The Most Historic US Soccer Sites: What’s #5?

byThe YankonJanuary 7, 2009

Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill, North Carolina is, in my humble opinion, the fifth most significant soccer venue in US history. Though it seats barely more than 5,000 spectators, those who have seen matches there have been treated to some of the best collegiate soccer in the history of the NCAA.

The North Carolina Women’s Soccer Team is one of the greatest dynasties in the history of American sports. The Lady Tarheels have played at Fetzer Field since 1979, and over the last thirty years they have won 19 NCAA titles during that stretch, including an unprecedented nine in a row.

Fetzer Field was built in 1935 as part of FDR’s New Deal Program aimed at restarting the American economy after the Great Depression. The UNC Track & Field team also calls the field its home, though it is primarily known as the site where womens’ soccer players have become legends.

Mia Hamm, Kristine Lilly, Cindy Parlow, Heather O’Reilly, Cat Reddick and Lindsay Tarpley are just a few of the female legends to have played collegiately for UNC at Fetzer Field. There will likely be many more to come as well, which makes this pitch a natural choice for this list.